Installing Docker & First Containers

Now that you understand what containers are, it is time to install Docker and run your first containers. This lesson covers installation on all major platforms, essential commands for pulling images and managing containers, and how to inspect and debug running containers.

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Installing Docker

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

# Remove old versions
sudo apt-get remove docker docker-engine docker.io containerd runc

# Install prerequisites
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg

# Add Docker's official GPG key
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | \
  sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

# Add the repository
echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] \
  https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  $(. /etc/os-release && echo \$VERSION_CODENAME) stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

# Install Docker Engine
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

# Add your user to the docker group (avoids needing sudo)
sudo usermod -aG docker \$USER
# Log out and back in for group change to take effect

macOS